Author Archives: diealoguecafe

This isn’t the first time the biggest funeral provider in Australia has been called out for treating customers rather badly. Rani Hayman in: Choice hands Shonky awards to InvoCare funerals and Harvey Norman’s partnership with Latitude Finance (ABC News, 9 … Continue reading →

There’s no rule that says a coffin must be made of wood, that it must be polished and lined with plush fabric. That it has to have fancy gold handles and an engraved gold plaque. The funeral industry tries to … Continue reading →

Renowned Australian author and historian Richard Flanagan has published a new book titled: The Living Sea of Waking Dreams. He joined Richard Fidler on ABC radio and what follows is a selection of extracts from this Conversations interview. (The) Title … Continue reading →

In attempts to demystify the end-of-life conversations we have, the number of studies and publications covering the many aspects involved is starting to reach saturation point. How many ways can you say the same thing? Here is another one for … Continue reading →

It’s normal to die.  Death is all around us.  It’s the way nature does life.  The death of one is life giving for another.  Take a rainforest or the ocean.  These two great systems thrive on the cycling of nutrients … Continue reading →

What to do with all the digital data we accumulate during our life times is becoming an issue that would best be dealt with while we’re still in the here and now, rather than leaving it all for someone else … Continue reading →

Following on from our last post, the options for coffins is also on the rise with this story from South Australia by Ben Nielsen noting that: Eco-friendly coffins on the rise as Australians look to reduce their environmental footprint, (ABC News, … Continue reading →

The whole is greater than the sums of its parts, an old truth that’s been constantly overlooked ever since reductionist science got hold of our thinking.  The result has been ever more specialisation and fragmentation of our thinking which has … Continue reading →

Alternative ways of doing after death care have been around for a few years now, but there seems to be a little more interest lately, as indicated in this story by Wiriya Sati and Adriane Reardon: Eco-burials, home funeral options … Continue reading →

Not one for beating about the bush Fran Taffel gave her daughter Jacqui clear instructions to call her death for what it would be: she had died.  Not passed away, not resting in peace, not joining the choir invisible, plain … Continue reading →